Film Reviews -- July 2004 Reviews by members of the AWC Film Group of films slated to open in Hamburg in July 2004.
(Becky T) Opening July 1, 2004 Shrek, the animated cartoon ogre, is back. He and his bride, Princess Fiona, are summoned to court to receive the blessing of the king and queen. Shrek has little desire to confront his new in-laws, but, of course, his wife prevails and off they go, taking along their gabby donkey. Shrek’s visit starts badly; the royal family wishes to ignore the facts, and instead, marry their daughter off to the wimpy Prince Charming, whose mother is obviously the real manipulator. Sequels rarely live up to the promise of the original. Here, two new characters, the good fairy and Puss in Boots, manage to keep interest from flagging, so that Shrek 2 is almost as good as the first film. The advances in animation techniques might make it even better from the technical side. The film emphasizes the message of the original: be yourself, recognize true values, beauty is only skin deep, commitment requires compromises, etc. This film will not disappoint children or adults, and we should brace ourselves for the prospect of Shrek 3, 4, and 5. The overly loud soundtrack features fourteen new pop songs. See it in English if possible, because much of the charm lies in the voices of such talented actors as Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, John Cleese, Julie Andrews, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Larry King, and Joan Rivers. The German version features Sascha Hehn, Benno Fürmann and Angelika Milster. Second Opinion by Nancy T As in the first Shrek film, in the opening sequence the audience leafs through the lovely illuminated pages of a seemingly old fairytale storybook (evoking a comforting memory of childhood bedtimes) -- whose story is in reality a parody of the fairytale genre. This reference to the illustrated book may have some basis in the careers of the three directors of the film: Asbury wrote and illustrated children’s books, Vernon was a storyboard artist for films and TV, and Adamson started as a computer graphics artist. In Shrek 2, Shrek (voice of Mike Meyers) and his bride Princess Fiona (voice of Cameron Diaz) journey to her parents in the Kingdom of Far Away. Shrek has forebodings about meeting the in-laws (voices of John Cleese and Julie Andrews) as his princess bride no longer looks like Barbie but has been transformed by his kiss to a female version of himself. Donkey (voice of Eddie Murphy) provides comic relief on the trip. Expectations are not met – intrigues follow and all ends up like a big musical review with Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas voice) and Donkey battling over the microphone. For native english speakers I recommend seeing this animated film in the original version. Consensus was the fast moving, witty dialog was difficult to catch for much better German speakers than myself at the dubbed preview. The rich rhythms of the highly individual cast should be heard. Look for smaller roles: Larry King as the evil stepsister and Joan Rivers as herself!! PS. When Shrek broke into the Fairy Godmother’s (voice of Jennifer Saunders) secret workshop and took the "Happy End" potion, I kept thinking of the Pennymart toilet paper brand by the same name. Had I forgotten there is another "happy end" or am I living it, unaware of it? PPS Prediction for Shrek 3 – Shrek will be transformed to the male version of Princess Fiona at the birth of their first ogre. (Osanna V) Opening July 8, 2004 Paramount Pictures brings Cuba Gooding Jr. together with a great selection of contemporary singers including Beyoncé Knowles in a rocking gospel comedy. Darrin Hill (Gooding Jr.) has worked his way up the ladder to a top position in a New York advertising firm. Unfortunately, he used a few lies and deceptions along the way, which, when they come to light, get him fired. Just around that time, Darrin receives news that his Aunt Sally has passed away back home in Montecarlo, Georgia, so he returns there for the first time in years to pay his final respects. He is greeted by a colourful parade of characters, including his childhood sweetheart, Lilly (Knowles), but doesn’t feel drawn to stay beyond the formalities of his aunt’s funeral. However, when the will is read he discovers that he stands to inherit shares to the tune of $150.000, but on one condition: he has to rebuild his old church choir, enter it in the annual Gospel Explosion and bring it home in victory. Darrin is pretty confident he can do this without a sweat, but soon discovers that he will have to resort to similar tricks and deceptions as he has used in the past. But, all for a good cause – himself! The story behind The Fighting Temptations holds no surprises, but the singing is absolutely great. Not only Gospel, but R&B, Rap and Hop Hop performances will delight the audience. Beyoncé Knowles is joined by Faith Evans, Angie Stone, Melba Moore, The O’Jays, Montell Jordan, T-Bone and Zane, while Cuba Gooding Jr. bounces with enthusiasm and shows us some of his break-dancing talent.
(Becky T) Opening July 8, 2004 Two Danes meet to discuss remaking, in five different ways, a 12-minute film called The Perfect Human. One is director Lars von Trier. He challenges Jørgen Leth to remake his film of 1967, in which a man and a woman are shown sitting, lying down, eating, jumping, etc. The camera zooms in on their eyes, ears, noses and throats. This supposedly has impressed and influenced von Trier, who saw it 20 times. Leth accepts the challenge which isn’t surprising because he has also risen to the challenge of serving as Denmark’s consul general in Haiti since 1991 and is a poet, besides being a director. Von Trier sets the stipulations for the five remakes. One must have only 12 frames per scene; one must be set in a miserable place which is not to appear in the film; one must be without any rules; one a cartoon and the last by someone else with credits given to Leth. The most interesting scenes occur when the two men meet to talk. As A.O. Scott of The New York Times said, “At least von Trier is picking on someone his own size instead of torturing defenceless young women,” with reference to his Breaking the Waves, Dancing in the Dark, and Dogville. Jørgen Leth fulfils the assignment successfully, travelling to Cuba, Bombay, Brussels, Port-au-Prinz, etc., which makes me wonder who is paying for this little ego trip between two grown men. Most interesting to me was that Bob Sabiston was the cartoonist chosen to carry out the fourth “obstruction.” He welcomed Leth into his home in Austin, Texas. Film students and freaks will find the film interesting as will members of the Lars von Trier fan club.
Opening July 8, 2004 Click here to see the review by Kirsten G in the German Films article from the April 2004 Currents 54th Berlinale Special Issue.
(Becky T) Opening July 8, 2004 The good news is that, for a sequel, this is a fine film. As Herr Backmann, the representative of Columbia TriStar said at the press showing, “It’s a new film altogether, not just a rehash of the first one.” Who would have thought that small, nerdy Toby McGuire with the moist buggy eyes would ever be a successful action hero, but that is what he is. In this second Spider Man film he experiences the dilemma of a priest: whether to give up all earthly pleasure to serve a higher calling or to marry the girl and settle down, meanwhile letting the world go to hell in a hand basket. Off-duty, Spider Man is Peter Parker, an intelligent student with potential. Peter disappoints in time management as he tries to juggle his jobs as student, pizza delivery boy and photographer for the Daily Bugle and still date his great love, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), and help his aunt, May (Rosemarie Harris). That’s not counting time spent hanging from New York skyscrapers on thin threads. Two adversaries confront him. One is his old friend Harry Osborn (James Franco) who blames Spider Man for the death of his father. Franco is a fine actor, but his role as poor little rich boy fails to arouse sympathy. Get a life and move on, Harry Osborn. The other is more threatening: Doctor Octopus (Doc Oct for short, of course), played by Alfred Molino, is a nice fusion energy researcher gone bad through a mismanaged experiment. With the help of four metal tentacles soldered to his back he is more than a match for our friend in the skin-tight, red suit. In the end all is well and there remains only one problem for Spider-Man 3: how will director Sam Raimi cope with the fact that Mary Jane and Harry, as well as thirty people in a subway to Brooklyn, Bay Ridge, have seen Spider Man without the mask? Maybe we could dig up a 1963 Marvel comic by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko for the answer. Or perhaps talk to writer Michael Chabon who is credited with the film story and known for his Pulitzer- prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay about two famous comic creators.
(Mary W) Opening July 8, 2004 A mentally retarded boy is brutally stabbed to death. Just sixteen and from an affluent family, Leland (Ryan Gosling) seems to be an ordinary teenager living with his mom (divorced parents) and struggling with new love. His girlfriend Becky (Jena Malone) says she needs him but suffers from a drug addiction that draws her to her older dealer. The murderer is Leland. Why? In flashbacks revealed through conversations between Leland and his juvenile hall teacher Pearl (Don Cheadle), Leland's interactions with his parents and Becky and her family slowly explain the events leading up to the fatal stabbing. Everything wraps up a little too neatly in the end -- can you ever really rationalize such a killing? Produced by Kevin Spacey who plays Leland's father, the director is Matthew Ryan Hoge. (Becky T) Opening July 15, 2004 Two Danish butchers, Bjarne (Nikolaj Lie Kass) and Swend (Mads Mikkelsen), have few customers until they add an extra spice to their meats. At the same time people in their immediate vicinity disappear as quickly as the lines in front of the shop grow. Bjarne’s twin brother (also played by Kass) leaves the asylum after awakening from a coma and the confusion is complete. The text is concise as both butchers are not prolific talkers. This was one of the funniest films at the Hamburg film festival, if you like black humor. For example, Swend locks up an electrician in the walk-in freezer by mistake and finds him stiff the next morning. Corpses hang from hooks next to sides of pork. Svend puts his real estate agent and girl friend through the bone crusher. The director is Anders Thomas Jensen.
(Becky T) Opening July 15, 2004 In this Italian film, Irene (Virna Lisi) lives alone in her beautiful mansion in the countryside. Her three grown children, Sara, Rita, and Claudio have moved away, but will reassemble for a family party. Sara (Margherita Buy) is divorced and lives alone with her problematic teen-aged son Marco. Rita (Sandra Ceccarelli) seems normal enough with a husband and two daughters, except that she is having an affair. Claudio (Luigi Lo Cascio) is a gay lawyer afraid to acknowledge his boy friend. These people muddle through their problems, until, of course, everything comes to a head, naturally during the party. Irene recovers from her shock at her children’s inability to live up to her expectations and life goes on. Italian critics praised this film; it won prizes in Montreal and Montpellier. Perhaps one must be Italian to appreciate it. I found it unoriginal. How many films lumber along to climax at catastrophic family events? How often is that story told from the viewpoint of the youngest family member (in this case little Chiara)? Even the fact that director Cristina Comencini is the daughter of a famous director (Luigi Comencini) is nothing new, since we already have Sophia Coppola, also a female director with a famous father.
(Becky T) Opening July 15, 2004 Johanna (Nicole Kidman) is a television personality until a reversal in fortune leads to a complete nervous breakdown. Her husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) decides to move the whole family (including two children) from hectic Manhattan to a gated community in Connecticut called Stepford. Here all the women look like deranged flight attendants and the men are happy. Only Bobbie (Bette Midler) is “normal” with a messy house, a hen-pecked husband, and a career, writing books such as I Love You but Please Die. Soon Johanna and Bobbie and Roger (half of a gay couple) notice that all is not right in Stepford. This is especially obvious at the leading matron’s (played by Glenn Close) book club where the book of the month is Christmas Keepsake Collectibles and the discussion is on 1000 ways to decorate with pine cones. Bobbie, who is Jewish, says, “I’ll add a pine cone to my vibrator and have a really merry Christmas.” This shocks the socks off the Stepford wives. Soon Bobbie and Roger go the way of the others and Johanna is left alone to investigate the mystery of Stepford and the powerful role played by Mike (Christopher Walken). The first Stepford Wives film appeared in 1975, a creepy, science-fiction version of the book by Ira Levin. The term “Stepford wife” was henceforth part of vocabulary and referred to any voluntarily subservient, yes-dear, perfect housewife. This new film by Frank Oz is a hilarious parody of the original, full of one-liners (“My husband is strong, forceful and commanding. Just like a refrigerator.” “We work for Microsoft and AOL.” “Oh, that’s why you are so slow.”) The entire cast is wonderful especially Kidman who is a terrific power woman in a new short hairdo. This film is much fun and has a surprise ending, more in tune with the 21st century.
(Becky T) Opening July 15, 2004 Director Morgan Spurlock has been described as a kinder, gentler Michael Moore. His documentary film describes his brave, month-long, love affair with McDonald’s Restaurants in 20 cities from New York City to Texas. Before undertaking to nourish himself solely from McDonald’s breakfasts, lunches, and dinners at 5000 calories daily, he submitted to a medical examination. His doctors pronounced him healthy; halfway through the film the same doctors begged him to break off the experiment after registering high rises in weight, cholesterol, and lethargy. His girlfriend Alexandra Jamieson is, of all things, a Vegan chef; she noticed his sinking libido. Part of the experiment was to reduce exercise, so that Spurlock measured his steps per day with a pedometer. Spurlock interviews teenagers about their eating habits, investigates school lunch programs, and throws up out his car window in a drive-through McDonald’s. I was most impressed with the principal of a high school for delinquent teenagers who insisted that his students’ enthusiasm, good grades, and concentration were due to his cafeteria’s healthy food. The U.S. population has an obesity problem, but rather than feel holier than thou, we should take a look at the alarming number of overweight Hamburgers sailing down Mönckebergstraße or Grindelhof and notice the full plates of French fries carried from the counter to the kids in our own city. Everyone should see this highly recommended film for which Spurlock got Best Director award at the 2004 Sundance film festival.
(Becky T) Opening July 15, 2004 Eleven-year-old David Wiseman (Sam Smith) lives with his parents and sister in a lower income neighbourhood in South London in the 1960s. His school chums barely tolerate him at sports, specifically at the game of cricket, because he is such a terrible player. His new next-door neighbors turn out to be boisterous Jamaicans and fanatic cricket players. Their daughter is David’s age, and she and her father set up a practice pitch which encompasses their whole backyard. David is torn between his desire to improve his game and bask in the warmth of this family, or to obey his parents who, as German Jews, have their own assimilation problems and wish to remain invisible in every way. In this British film by Paul Morrison the two families grow in stature and happiness to set an example to the small-minded racists in the neighbourhood, but not before suffering slurs, infidelity, misunderstandings, and re-evaluation of goals. For example, there is a skin-head type who throws rocks into their windows; David’s mother in her loneliness has adulterous intentions towards the neighbor; David is too cowardly to invite his best friend to his birthday party; David’s father avoids reality in the grey shadows of his tailor shop. In the end David misses his big chance to be a cricket star in order to be with his real friends. This is being billed as something between Billy Elliott and East is East, but, although it is a fine film with a message, it doesn’t hold a candle to those two in depth of humor or portrayal of human weaknesses or subtlety. It is easy to predict but maybe more would be too much to ask of a film which revolves around a game of cricket. (Geysa W) Opening July 22, 2004 The future of the human civilization is in the hands of the Surprise. Captain Kork, Mr. Spuck and Schroty have a mission from Queen Metepha to take care of the invasion from Mars in the Blue planet. The special sounds and visual effects were very good with a Hollywood touch made in Germany. Famous artists like Bully Herbig from the TV show the Bully Parade, as well as popular musicians, make a very good recipe for a top film. Intelligent marketing supported the film. From the start you could buy products from the film like Sekt, sandwiches by McDonalds or towels in the super market. This is definitely a new, aggressive way of selling in Germany. I could feel similar styles like Mr. Bean or Policy Academy in some gags. The film was interesting, and I think people should go for a good laugh.
(Becky T) Opening July 22, 2004 In this romantic comedy, former president Monroe “Eagle” Cole (Gene Hackman) leaves the Oval Office for his summer house in Mooseport. He is famous for being the only president to divorce during office and his ex-wife, the wicked witch of the west wing, has cleaned him out of all other assets. He moves in with a complete staff of advisors, secret service men (eager to get out of Mooseport), and dutiful secretary Grace (Marcia Gay Harden). By a fluke he agrees to run for village mayor. His adversary is “Handy” Harrison (Ray Romano), plumber and owner of the local hardware store which sports the town mascot, Bruce the Moose, in the front yard. The third part of a love triangle between the two men is veterinarian Sally Mannis (Maura Tierney). The plot meanders from politics to the meaning of commitment to golf, interspersed with life’s homilies such as “But he’s 20 years older.” “Power takes 10 years off a man and rich takes 10 more.” “A genuinely honest man won’t take risks nor make a commitment.” “You are making a fool out of yourself – welcome to politics.” “It’s a small town; the rules are different.” “Sometimes you just gotta go for the green.” There are jokes about the presidential library, Norwegian cars, Bill Clinton, etc. Supposedly, director Donald Petre’s beautiful little film Mooseport is in Maine, but he filmed at the Toronto film studios, so the scenery is most probably Canadian. This is a harmless, politically correct, waste of time for the whole family, as well as for Gene Hackman fans. (Kirsten G) Opening July 29, 2004 Saturday Night Live alumnus David Spade is well-known for his sarcastic, self-deprecating humor. At first glance, his latest film, Dickie Roberts, plays right into that persona. However, Roberts ends up having a heart, which both helps and hurts the film. Roberts tells the story of former child TV star Dickie, who rocketed to fame at age five but was a nobody again by age six. Now 35, Dickie (Spade) is making ends meet as a valet and badgering his agent Sidney (Jon Lovitz) to find him a film role that will finally restore his fame. When he finally gets an audition for the part-of-a-lifetime, the director (Rob Reiner as himself) expresses skepticism that Dickie can pull off the role as it calls for someone who had a “normal” childhood. So Dickie decides to hire a family to take him in for a month so that he can experience what it is like to be a normal kid, but the outcome is not quite what he expected. The premise of Roberts is clever, and some parts of it are gut-splittingly funny – including a scene of Dickie playing poker with real-life former child stars such as Danny Bonaduce (The Partridge Family) and Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch) and the final scene with 40 or so former child stars singing a We Are the World-like song about child stars being people too. But Roberts also has a message, and that is where the film bogs down. Some of the scenes are genuinely heart-felt, but the mix of sarcasm and sap results in most of the film just being bland. In the end, it would have been much more fun to just laugh at Dickie than to feel like we should empathize with him.
(Mary W) Opening July 29, 2004 Styled as a documentary, Michael Moore expresses his point of view about President George W. Bush. Moore begins with what he perceives as Bush’s unlikely rise from a failed Texas oil man to stealing the 2000 presidential election in Florida. Using archival news coverage, Moore outlines numerous relationships between Bush, his father and their associates with the Saudi royal and bin Laden families, emphasizing political ties and business connections. More news coverage highlights the Bush administration downplaying Saddam Hussein as not being a threat to America. Then came the tragedy of September 11th. Moore asks why members of the bin Laden family left the U.S. shortly after September 11th without being questioned by the F.B.I. After September 11th, Moore reveals the flip flop of the Bush administration, which now identifies Saddam Hussein as an imminent threat to American security. Unlike other Moore films where he is constantly on camera, Moore relies instead upon news archives, letting his subjects speak for themselves. He looks at the use of terror alerts that keep the nation in constant fear while the “Patriot Act”, which infringes on many basic civil rights, is enacted without even being read and U.S. borders are left unprotected as Bush prepares to start a war halfway around the world. As Bush pursues his war in Iraq, the film turns somber as Moore takes an intimate look at families of the soldiers. He returns to his hometown of Flint, Michigan, and the poignant story of a mother whose pride gives way to bitter anger and inconsolable grief over the loss of her son. He sends his own camera crews into Iraq to hear what the soldiers on the ground have to say about the Bush administration and their mission, catching prisoner abuse on film at the same time. Among the bloodshed and misery, Moore looks at businessmen learning how to capitalize on the business of war. Less of Moore makes his arguments much more compelling, even if he is presenting just his side. While watching this film at the Festival de Cannes, the audience erupted into applause throughout the indictments against the Bush administration for fighting a wrongful war in Iraq. Applause gave way to tears for the soldiers lost. Michael Moore, sitting with his wife and Harvey Weinstein, received a twenty-minute standing ovation. The film won the Palme d’Or from a jury presided over by Quentin Tarantino. Moore has created a masterpiece of manipulating facts to support his opinions. Is he right on or a total nut case? See the film and decide for yourself.
(Shelly S) Opening July 29, 2004 Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen The Coen brothers have done it again. They have made an intelligent, humorous film that brings tears to your eyes. This is a wonderful remake of a 1955 comedy of five criminals who rent a house from a little old southern black lady. The criminals need to build an underground tunnel in order to rob a casino which is floating on the river but has the money secured in a building underground at the rivers edge. Now Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall) is not just any old lady; she is someone who talks to God and to her husband who has now passed away. She has the ability to make sure things go in the right direction. Professor G.H. Dorr (Tom Hanks) has the ability to sweet talk his way through the Romantic periods as well as the Baroque periods but has a difficult time getting past Ms. Munson. Both these actors give incredible performances while good attempts to triumph over evil. Only the Coens could smoothly combine the fine works of Edgar Allen Poe poetry with gospel music as well as some hip hop to set the mood of this film. Come Let Us Go Back to God brings this film to its conclusion as, one by one, the robbers fight to take their portion of the money home. This is a movie worth spending your money on.
(Shelly S) Opening July 29, 2004 This Australian/Italian film, directed by Jan Sardi, opens very dramatically with Gino (Adam Garcia), an Australian Italian, writing a love letter. The love letter is sent to Italy where he is then for the sixth time rejected from a possible love match. So Gino hurries to the church where he must pray for his death because it would be better than living his life alone. The filming makes it seem like some amazing action is about to take place, but then it fizzles out like some dying firecracker. At the beginning Gino seems slow but by the end of the film he is an amazing philosopher. His brother (Giovanni Ribisi) is of course is drop-dead handsome and has no problem with the women in the town as well as a steady Italian girlfriend. But he is unable to see his true love before his own eyes. Naturally there can be no fairytale without a penniless princess, the beautiful Rosetta (Amelia Warner), who seems to be able to travel to Australia then back to Italy and then back to Australia without spending a dime. (I certainly need to find out who her travel agent is so I can cash in on this deal.) She gets to marry, in a sense, two men for the price of one, but I wouldn’t want to give the story away. In fact...it is much better not to check it out at all. Stay away, no, run away from this one, and keep your hard-earned money in your pocket for that next boat trip across the ocean.
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Shrek
2 
The
Fighting Temptations 
The
Five Obstructions 
Muxmäuschenstill
Spider-Man
2 
United
States of Leland 
Green
Butchers 
Il
Piu Bel Giorno Della Mia Vita (The Best Day of my Life, Der Schönste Tag in meinem Leben)
The
Stepford Wives (Die Frauen von Stepford) 
Super
Size Me 
Wondrous
Oblivion (Davids wundersame Welt) 
(T)raumschiff
Surprise - Periode 1 
Welcome
to Mooseport (Willkommen in Mooseport) 
Dickie
Roberts: Former Child Star (Dickie Roberts: Kinderstar) 
Fahrenheit
9/11 
Ladykillers
Love's
Brother (Eine Italienische Hochzeit)